Just need to vent!

Trevor and I have been managing an apartment complex for the last year and it has been a huge blessing!  But once a semester we have the move outs and move ins about a day apart.  About every move out there is at least one couple who opens my eyes to a new world.  A world I don't even dare become a part of.  Its like watching Hoarders and then wanting to go soak in a bleach bath just from watching it!

I think I am pretty OCD when it comes to inspecting apartments.  Why? Well because I have lived and moved into apartments where they were super filthy!  I hated the feeling of cooking in someone else's greasy kitchen, showering in someone elses water stains, and sleeping in someone else's dusty room.  It just bothers me.  Not to say that I am OCD when it comes to cleaning my house because Heaven knows that bathrooms are my least favorite chore.  But I still clean them and give them a good scrub down.

On to my rant, I hate the complaints that go something like this. "It was dirty when I moved in.  Why do I need to clean it then?"  "I tried cleaning that but it just wouldn't clean up."  "I just didn't have time so I'll let you just charge me."

REALLY people?  Here are my want to slap you in the face responses.  "So because it was dirty when you moved in, you never felt it necessary to clean it? And haven't you EVER heard leave something better than when you found it?"

"I highly HIGHLY doubt that you even attempted to bend over and wipe out those HUGE burnt food crumbs left in your oven!! How can your windows have smudges and dirty water marks if you tried?  Honestly, how is your bathroom mirror covered in toothpaste if you tried? Even water would have taken that off!!!  There is a pile of dirt on your floor...please tell me how you tried and failed to vacuum that?"

"For the 2.5 years you've been living here, you haven't had time to wipe down your stove? Or clean your windows?  You are a student, with no kids, and no job!!!"

If you can't tell, the last couple of days people having been moving out and I am dealing with THAT one as mention before.  I think I am very fair in how I handle checkouts and even gave them a list of things that needed to be cleaned.  I EVEN brought over my household cleaning supplies so they could use them.  I told them I'd be back to check and she stopped in shortly after I left their unit and said they were done.  HMMM...REALLY?  So this morning I went over to re-check the list of things that needed to be done and they weren't.  So I am cleaning their unit this morning and I am just sick with how gross it is.  Its one thing to have a dirty house because of whatever reason, but when you move and someone new is moving in, have the decency to clean up your grimy mess!  I now feel like I need to soak in a bleach bath and shave my head.

If anyone wants to know how to clean your stove let me put in my 2 cents.  When we moved in to our unit our oven was CAKED in exploded food and spilled over messes.  I tried my luck with all the household remedies like baking soda and anything that can be mixed with it.  NOTHING worked!  I was a little disappointed because I REALLY wanted a clean stove.  I remembered these little blue soapy sponges that I used in the mission all the time, so I grabbed my brillo pads and it was like magic! It has been my go-to scrubbing tool because whatever soap it has packed in it is like Dawn times 100.  Mix that with a little steel wool and BAM! Its done.  Kudos to you Brillo inventer.  You knew exactly what you were doing!

Just to explain the depth of dirty on the previously mentioned apartment, I used 1 1/2 brillo pads on my stove.  I am 5, count them, FIVE, brillo pads on this stove and it is STILL gross.  SIGH.  Whats a girl to do.  And honestly, I can't close my eyes and pretend that its clean.  I can't hand over the keys to the new tenants knowing how gross it is.  So unless I go into labor before that oven is clean, I am bound and determined to have that be sparkling!!  I should've taken a before pic!

There are so many GOOD cleaning products out there and so many BAD ones.  If I walk into a unit and it smells like bleach and 409, I know that its been done right.  When I come into a unit that smells like spic and span and fabuloso or some dollar store cleaner I sigh because I know I have a journey ahead of me.

Well, thats my vent.  We usually have great tenants who know how to clean and actually do clean.  I love when a check out takes 10 minutes instead of hours and repeated trips back and forth.